Chapter Twenty-Seven #2
“But he wants a family so badly, Anna. He talks about it like it’s everything to him. And now I can’t give him that. How is he supposed to be okay with this? With just me?”
She reaches for my hands. “All he’s ever needed is you. And I know that sounds like a cheesy line from a romance novel, but it’s the truth. He doesn’t care how you build a family, he just wants to build it with you.”
“I don’t know.” I blink hard, but the tears come fast, blurring everything. “You didn’t see him after. He was broken. He needs to be a dad, Anna, and I can’t give that to him. Not ever.” The tears fall unchecked now, and I drop my head into my hands as the sobs break free.
Anna wraps her arms around me and pulls me in tight.
“Sweetie, I know this feels like the end of the world, but it isn’t.
There are other paths. Adoption. Surrogacy.
Hell, even fostering. You still have options, you need time to see them.
” She guides me to the kitchen table and hands me a tissue as I try to collect myself.
“I know this sucks, Dee. It’s brutal and unfair, and it hurts like hell. But there are so many couples out there who can’t have children naturally and still live incredible lives together. Colt and you? You’re meant to be. This doesn’t change that fact.”
I nod, clutching the tissue as I try to believe her. “Do you really think he can be happy with j-just me?” I ask, voice cracking.
“I know he can,” she says without hesitation. “And he will be, as long as he’s got you.”
I take a deep breath and blow my nose, grounding myself. “Sometimes I look at my life and wonder how the hell it got so messy. And then, just when I think it can’t possibly get worse, bam, another curveball. It’s like the universe keeps asking, ‘How strong is she really?’ ”
Anna chuckles. “That’s life, babe. If it were easy, we’d all be farting glitter and riding unicorns.”
I let out a genuine laugh through the last of my sniffles.
She grins. “What I mean is, life sucks sometimes. You get knocked down, then kicked again while you’re crawling. But eventually, you stand up. You always do.”
“Yeah,” I say, wiping the last of the tears from my cheeks. “I guess you’re right.”
“You guess? Please… I’m always right.” She grins as the coffee machine dings, and I finally let out a shaky chuckle.
We drink our coffee and talk until lunch, then keep chatting until the sky outside starts to shift. We’re curled up in the living room when the gate buzzer rings.
I frown and glance at Anna. “That’s weird. The guys usually let themselves in. Maybe Colt’s remote battery died.” I get up and walk to the front door, pressing the gate release on the console.
Anna walks out with me, and I feel lighter after our girly day. Not healed, but steadier. She is exactly what I needed.
I hear a car engine rumble up the driveway. Smiling, I open the door to greet Colt, expecting Johnny’s SUV. But the vehicle parked outside isn’t Johnny’s. My stomach twists at the beat-up rust bucket, the kind that barely passes rego. Dents. Scratches. One busted headlight, and I tense immediately.
“Who’s that?” Anna murmurs beside me.
I shake my head slowly. “No idea. Hopefully it’s a lost Uber or delivery. Not a goddamn crazy fan, I can’t deal with that shit today. I should have checked before letting them in, I thought it was the boys.”
The driver’s door opens, and out steps a tall redhead, slim to the point of unhealthy, wrapped in a skintight red halter dress that’s a few inches shy of being indecent.
Her makeup looks caked on, like she’s trying to hide something.
Or maybe trying too hard to be noticed. She glances up at the house.
I offer a polite smile, but she frowns, then walks around to the passenger side and opens the door.
A small boy climbs out.
He’s probably six or seven, cute as a button, but unfamiliar. I’ve never seen him before in my life. What rattles me more is the puffiness around his eyes and the faint swelling in his ankles.
Something about this feels… off.
“Hi, can I help you?” I ask, stepping forward cautiously.
The woman wraps her arm around the little boy and walks toward us. Her heels clack on the pavers, her fake lashes fluttering as she offers a bright smile that sets me instantly on edge. “Yeah, hi, I’m looking for Colt. Is he home?”
My shoulders tense. “He’s out at the moment. Does he know you?”
“Oh, yeah,” she replies breezily. “Colt and I go way back.”
I bristle. “Slayette?” I whisper to Anna.
She eyes the woman critically. “Not one I’ve seen before.”
I nod once and take a calming breath. “And… did Colt know you were coming by?”
“Not exactly,” she admits, tilting her head. “I haven’t seen him in a few years, but I really need to talk to him.”
Anna raises a brow. “Are you a fan?”
The redhead lets out a short, almost amused laugh. “God, no. I couldn’t stand his music. That band was all he ever cared about.”
The hairs on the back of my neck rise. I don’t like her. Not one bit. And the way she looks at me like I’m temporary only fuels that dislike.
“Well, if you want to leave a name and number, I’ll make sure he gets the message,” I say curtly. “Miss?”
She reaches into her bag and pulls out a card as the gate buzzes open and Johnny’s SUV rolls up the drive.
Her eyes light up. “Is that him?”
My heart kicks up a notch. Her excitement is a little too intense.
Is she dangerous?
Is there a weapon in that oversized knock-off Louis Vuitton purse?
Anna subtly shifts beside me, reading my tension.
Johnny gets out first and freezes when he sees her. His jaw tenses. He says something to Colt inside the car before stepping aside.
Colt exits.
He stops cold.
His entire body stiffens as soon as his eyes land on her. He rubs the back of his neck and pulls his guitar case from the back seat like he needs something to do with his hands.
That reaction tells me everything.
He knows her.
And whatever this is, it’s not good.
Johnny gives Colt a supportive shoulder pat. “Anna, c’mon. We should go.”
Anna leans in close to me. “Dee, you want us to stay?”
I can’t pull my gaze off Colt, who looks like he’s seen a ghost.
“No, it’s okay. Thanks, though,” I murmur, barely registering Anna’s hug before she joins Johnny and they drive off.
Colt moves toward us cautiously, like he’s trying to gauge how bad the damage might be.
The woman beams. “Colt, honey, it’s so good to see you,” she says and strides up to him, wrapping him in a tight hug.
He doesn’t return it. At all.
The little boy glances up at me and gives a shy smile that nearly breaks me. His face, his innocence, magnifies the emptiness in my chest.
Colt gently pulls away from the woman and makes a beeline for me. He wraps his arm around my shoulders in a solid, grounding grip and kisses my temple with purpose.
Possessive.
Claiming.
Protective.
Everything in that single gesture screams—she’s mine.
“What are you doing here?” he asks, his voice hard and clipped.
She shrugs like she has all the time in the world. “Colt, you could at least be a little nicer. After everything we’ve been through.”
I stiffen. Her words crawl under my skin.
I want to slap the smirk clean off her over-glossed lips. Her eyes rake over Colt’s body like I’m not even standing here. Like she’s already thinking about climbing him.
“Who are you?” I demand, my voice ice-cold.
She turns to me with a mock-sheepish smile. “Oh, right. Sorry.” She tosses her hair over one shoulder like this is a casual reunion, like she isn’t about to drop a bomb.
“I’m Macy,” she says.
And just like that…
My heart free-falls through the floor.